A new ending, announcement of Mass Effect 3

If the sign of a truly successful gaming franchise is the amount of passion people show towards that franchise, you could argue that Mass Effect is one of the most successful franchises of all time.

Granted, BioWare would probably prefer people to be passionately in love with the game rather than passionately filing “false advertising” complaints with the Better Business Bureau regarding the ending, but they say no press is bad press. This is a lie, of course, but it is one that makes people feel better.

After the release of Mass Effect 3 (check out our full review here) we had the chance to sit down with the game’s director, Casey Hudson, to address the growing dissatisfaction with the game. He stated, “I didn’t want the game to be forgettable, and even right down to the sort of polarizing reaction that the ends have had with people–debating what the endings mean and what’s going to happen next, and what situation are the characters left in.”

Well, the ending certainly hasn’t been forgettable. The complaints grew so loud that within two weeks of its release, BioWare announced that it would be releasing new content to supplement the ending.

Earlier today, BioWare and EA announced that sometimes this summer, it will release “Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut,” a free DLC, available on all systems, that will expand upon the ending.

“We are all incredibly proud of Mass Effect 3 and the work done by Casey Hudson and team. Since launch, we have had time to listen to the feedback from our most passionate fans and we are responding,” Dr. Ray Muzyka, Co-Founder of BioWare said in the press release. “With the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut we think we have struck a good balance in delivering the answers players are looking for while maintaining the team’s artistic vision for the end of this story arc in the Mass Effect universe.”

The exact content of the DLC is, and likely will remain, shrouded in secrecy until its release, but it will add “additional cinematic sequences and epilogue scenes” as well as offer “deeper insights into how their [fans] personal journey concludes.”

It also isn’t clear exactly how the new ending will be incorporated into the existing game, but new reports have suggested that it may be sans Shepard altogether.

“We have reprioritized our post-launch development efforts to provide the fans who want more closure with even more context and clarity to the ending of the game, in a way that will feel more personalized for each player.” Casey Hudson, Executive Producer of the Mass Effect series stated in the release.